Vending machine for frozen products



April 7, 1936.

C. J. PORT VENDING MACHINE FOR FROZEN RRODUCTS Filed Nov. 5,

5 Sheets-Sheet l f? V Z4@ Z3 K E a 101 v/ 101 K \m I f [T1 I 4, jrwenior: C/zarZasJPorZeg April 7, 1936. c, J, PORTER VENDING MACHINE FOR FROZEN PRODUCTS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 3, 1954 fnr)elzior kanasf orifer;

' flwrrwy A ril 7, 1936. c. J. PORTER 2,036,970

VENDING MACHINE FOR FROZEN PRODUCTS Filed Nov. 3, 1934 5 Shets-Sheet 3 "Jporielg April 7, 1936. c, J. PORTER 2,036,970

VENDING MACHINE FOR FROZEN PRODUCTS Filed Nov. 5, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 f'wenior: Uiwrlay JCPO Pier;

April 7, 1936. Q PQRTER 2,036,970

VENDING MACHINE FOR FROZEN PRODUCTS Filed Nov. 5, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet '5 ""i 3 4 4 /"MWMM/K/% N A SEW g- 51-71 3,13 4/33 2 1% 3/ 38- I Inventor. K.fl////%/W% //f// C/zarlarJPorZer;

Patented Apr. 7, 1936 PATENT oFFicE VENDING MACHINE FOR FROZEN PRODUCTS Charles J. Porter, Glenolden, Pa., assignor of onehalf to Howard Davis, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application November 3, 1934, Serial No. 751,292

4 Claims.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in a vending machine for frozen products and has for one of its objects to provide means for controlling the temperature between the refrigerant bunker and the package containers.

The machine is particularly adapted for vending packages of ice cream which must be maintained in a solid or firrn conditions but not so hard that they cannot be eaten readily as soon as delivered. Therefore another object of the invention is to provide means for regulating the transfer or exchange of heat units between the package containers and the refrigerant bunker.

The machine is especially designed to use dry ice as the refrigerant which produces an exceedingly low temperature and it is necessary to control this temperature in a simple efilcient manner without waste, wherefore an object of the present invention is to utilize means not only to regulate the exchange of heat, but also to conserve the refrigerant or cooling medium.

Another object of the invention is to construct a machine of this kind to be placed in condition for operation by the insertion of a coin of proper denomination or the equivalent thereof, the mechanism being capable of one single complete actuation for each inserted coin.

Another object of the invention is to provide acoin control mechanism which functions upon the insertion of a. proper coin providing there is merchandise to be dispensed and which will prevent repeats as well as prevent the delivery of goods for improper coins or slugs although a proper coin will be returned if there is no goods to be delivered.

Another object of the invention is to provide an arrangement of parts so associated that the refrigerant bunker functions as an absorbing chamber, for taking up the heat units in the other elements of the machine and/the merchandise therein, in contradistinction to the usual method of irculating chilled air about the frozen merch dise.

Another object of the invention is to locate fins in certain positions to assist in quickly absorbing or transferring excess heat units from the merchandise or package containers to the refrigerant bunker or absorbing chamber.

delivery end of each merchandise container which is quickly but quietly closed as soon as the merchandise is delivered.

With these and other objects in view this invention consists of the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then specifically designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand 'how 10 to make and use the same, I will; describe its construction in detail referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings, in which;-

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a vending machine constructed in accordance with my inven- 5 tion and having parts of the upper portion broken away and shown in section to illustrate certain details of the structure.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof having parts of the upper portion broken away to show the 20 locations of some of the elements.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevation with the front closure of the casingremoved.

Fig. 4 is a further enlarged view on the line 25 4-4 of Fig. 3, with the parts in closed positions.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a section of the paper shield which is used to control or regulate the absorption of heat units by the-refrigerant, edges of the shield sheets being separated to 30 illustrate the construction.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of one of the package delivery chutes showing the control means for the barrier and coin deflector.

Fig. '7 is a view similar to Fig. 4, on a larger 35 scale and showing the parts in a full open position.

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view of one of the coin pockets, showing the deflector in its normal position for the return of coins.

Fig. 9 is a front edge view of said coin pocket.

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of one of the bottom refrigerator plugs or closures with attached extractor, one of the arms of the latter being broken away to illustrate connection of fingers. 45

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the inner ends of the extractor arms with attached fingers.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of one of the package guides and holders.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary view partly in eleva- 50 tion and partly in section of one of the coin selectors which with a coin functions as a clutch to connect a delivery mechanism with the operating mechanism.

Fig. 14 is a front elevation of Fig. 13.

Fig. 15 is a section on the line lB-l! of Fig. 1. In carrying out my invention as herein embodied, 20 represents the casing or cabinet closed at the top by a lid 2| and having a doorway 22 in its front wall which is normally closed by a removable door 23 provided with a lock 24.

A large can 25 is located in the upper rear part of the casing or cabinet and in spaced relation. to the walls of said cabinet whereby suitable insulation 26 may be installed to properly insulate the cooling compartment produced by said large can. This large can 25 is open at the front but has the forward edges of its end walls attached to a vertical plate or partition 21 ex-' tending from one side to the other of the interior of the insulated upper part of the casing.

Within the said large can 25 are located a number of small cans "which are also open at the front and are fixed to the vertical plate or partition 21 by means of the edges of their side walls, and the back walls and bottoms of said small cans are spaced from the contiguous walls of the large can to provide-air circulating spaces. Further the small cans are spaced from each other laterally as will be obvious by reference to Fig. 15, to provide air circulating passageways between said small cans.

At the bottom of each small can in the front thereof is left a package "outlet opening 29 through which the packages are to be delivered and from this outlet opening leads an inclined sill 30.

A package carrying rack 3| is removably mounted in each small can and comprises three upright channel bars 32 connected to- U-shaped struts 33 with a foot 34 at the bottom of the rack, said foot carrying a lug 35 for registration with a hole in the bottom of the small can when the forward end of the foot is projected into the outlet opening 29. It is to be understood that the smaller cans have enough space between their front and back wall to permit the racks to be moved backward to withdraw. the feet from the openings and then lift the racks out through the tops of said small cans.

Each channel bar has two guides 36 of suitable material that will not. collect frost; such as,

Bakelite so that packages of frozen merchandise will not stick to the racks. In the region of each rack within each small can are two guides 31 of the same material as the guides 36 mounted on the plate or partition 21 so that when a rack is in place, a storage space is produced to hold the packages in position for vending. i

At the upper end of the casing or cabinet between the plate or partition 21 and the front wall of said casing or cabinet is located the refrigerant bunker 38 having a sloping bottom wall 39 inclined downwardly toward said plate or partition 21. This bunker is adapted to contain a suitable refrigerant 40, Fig. 2, preferably dry ice or an equivalent, and in order to control or regulate the low temperature thereof or the exchange of heat units between the refrigerant bunker and the merchandise storage chambers or the packages of merchandise therein, I locate a number of shields 4| on the inside of the ice bunker against the wall next to the plate or partition 21.

These shields are formed from two layers 42 of thirty pound paper with a layer 43 of fifteen pounds asphaltum between them and they are arranged in the refrigerant bunker so that they overlap one another in shingle fashion with a single thickness at the lower end of the bunker. The shields are assembled so that they can be adjusted vertically whereby additional thicknesses can be placed at the lower end of the bunker when desired, as in very cold weather and the majority or all of them can be moved to the upper end of the bunker in hot weather thereby permitting a greater absorption of heat units from the merchandise storage compartments. This is very important when dry ice" is used because of its low temperature and it is a well known fact that if frozen products, such as ice cream, are maintained in an extra solid condition, they cannot be eaten immediately upon being dispensed and the flavor is not of the desired quality. With my means for and method of controlling the exchange of heat units, the ice cream will be maintained sufiiciently hard and firm to keep it in good condition and yet relatively soft so that it can be eaten at once. Ice cream in this form is palatable and has a true flavor. The use of the shields also conserves the refrigerant because of the low conductivity of said shields.

Particular attention is called to the location of the refrigerant bunker which is at the upper ends of the merchandise compartments and the shields are positioned so that the greatest exchange of heat units will take place at the bottom of the bunker thereby evenly distributing the temperature from top to bottom of the con- An operating shaft 44 extends across the interior of the casing or cabinet below the insulated parts of the machine, with one end projecting through one of the side walls of said casing. On the projecting end is mounted and fixed a handle 45, and in order to return said handle, its shaft and other parts to their normal rest positions, I provide a spring 46, which may be housed in' the handle, having one end anchored to a stationary element, such as the casing of the machine or a ferrule 41 fixed to the casing and the other end connected to the handle. The operating shaft 44 is journalled in main bearing hangers 48 secured to a horizontal support plate 49 located below the refrigerator and extending completely across the casing and from the back thereof to position short of the casing front so as to be spaced therefrom.

On the operating shaft in the region of each merchandise compartment is mounted an idler pinion 50 urged in a reverse direction by a spring check including a cylinder 52 having one end secured to a bracket or hanger 53 attached to the supporting plate 49. At the lower end'of the cylinder is a screw 54 for regulating the passage of air to and from the cylinder to control the action of the spring check. Within the cylinder is slidably mounted a piston 55 carried by the piston rod 56 extending through the upper end of the cylinder, which is closed except for a hole through which a piston rod projects. A coupling or link 51 is attached to the projecting end of the piston rod and pivoted at 58 to the idlerpinion 50. A coil spring 59 surrounds the piston rod with one end engaging the upper end of the cylinder, as the stationary element, and the other end engaging the piston, as the movable element.

This idler pinion 50 meshes with a gear rack to .slidably mounted in a rack guide 6| secured to the supporting plate 49. On the forward or outer end of the gear rack 60 is secured a closure plug supporting bracket 62 for carrying the flat segment 88 which lies in very close proximclosure plug 88 and the associated package extractor 64. The closure plug 88 is designed to fit into the outlet opening 28 and can'ies a gasket 65 to engage the faces of the walls surrounding the outlet opening to seal the latter and make the package compartment-air tight at the bottom.

The closure plug 88 carries a plate 88 from which projects a threaded trumiion 81, Fig. 10, for passage through a hole in the upper end of the bracket 82 whereby said closure plug is hung on the bracket and the parts are held together by a nut 88 screwed onto the trunnion. In order to adjust the closure plug on the bracket so that said closure plug will properly enter the outlet opening 29' and the gasket 85 properly vseal said outlet opening even though there be some discrepencies in aligning the parts during manufacture, a number of set screws 88 are threaded through the bracket 82, about the hole receiving the trunnion, with their inner ends impinging on the plate 66. This enables the. party assembling the machine to mount the plug closure in a horizontal plane parallel with the bracket or in any canted position relative to said bracket.

The extractor 64 is mounted on the closure plug 83 and projects from the inner face there-- of through'the outlet opening 29 into a small can 28 or package compartment. The extractor includes two arms 18, each having an inwardly projecting lug 'H' on which is mounted a spring. actuated finger 12 so as to normally stand in a. substantially upright position but capable of being pushed down as they pass beneath a stack of merchandise packages. The arms 18 of the extractor are preferably positioned so as to pass under the lower ends of the upright bars 32 of the package carrying rack 3| at both sides of the foot 34 and are long enough to reach beyond the back of the package carrying rack whereby the spring actuated fingers 12 can straighten up after passing the rear edge of a package resting on the foot 34 of said package carrying rack. vWith the fingers back of the package which is below the top of the outlet opening 29, said package can be drawn through the outlet opening when the extractor is moved forwardly as will be more fully described below.

Each idler pinion 50 has a coin retainer 13 fixed thereto and as illustrated in Figs. 13 and 14, said coin retainer includes a rear plate l4 having a recess I5 formed longitudinally therev through open at both ends as well as at one side. The depth of this recess is equal to the thickness of the coin 18 which is to cause the machine to function and-the side wall of said recess is flared toward the entrance as at 'l'! and also hasa notch to form a stop shoulder 18 which will arrest the proper coin but permit smaller ones or slugs to pass through the recess and out of its lower end. The recess 15 is partially closed by a front plate 19 which, with the rear plate, is secured to the idler pinion by screws 80 orv equivalent fastening means.

The idler pinion 58 has a side flange 8| projecting from one side thereof which is as wide as the coin retainer 13, or approximately so, and. its outer perimeter is flush with the upper end of said coin retainer and said flange 8i functions as coin arrester as will be apparent from the later description.

ity to the side edge of the flange 8| preferably without actually touchlngi said flange. A portion of the flat segment projects across the open.- side of the coin retainer 13 and thereby closes the other side of the recess 15 in said coin retainer.

All of the flat segments 83 of the several driving elements 82 are shown as ratchets but only one of these constitutes a ratchet which, by preference, is the one adjacent the operating handle 45. In the course of manufacture it is easier to make all of the flat segments alike rather than make one ass. ratchet and all the others as plates.

The flat segment which is to function as a ratchet, must have ratchet teeth 84 for co-action with a pawl 85 pivoted in the pawl bearing 88 secured to the supporting plate 49. This pawl and ratchet prevents a reverse movement of the handle and any of the driving elements until a complete forward movementhas been accomplished. A notch 81 is formed in the edge of the segment forward of the ratchet teeth and another notch 88 is similarly produced to the rear of the ratchet teeth. These notches are for reversing the pawl at the end of each oscillation of the ratchet segment. As shown in Fig. 4, the ratchetsegment is in its full return position and the pawl 85 is in registration with the notch 81 and therefore hangs vertically. Any movement of the ratchet segment will throw the pawl into an inclined position for co-action with the ratchet teeth but as soon as the ratchet segment has been carried to its full forward position, the nose of the pawl will enter the notch 88 and again hang in a vertical position, as in Fig. 7. Now as the driving element is. returned by the spring actuated operating shaft, the pawl will ride over the ratchet teeth until it again enters the notch 81. v

Each segment-83 of a driving element 82 carries an arcuate pusher 89 which is secured to its segment at or near the rear thereof and extends forwardly in an are having the operating shaft as its axis. This major part of this pusher is spaced from the inside face of its segment and may be considered free. The pusher is positioned so that it may enter holes 98 and 9| in the rear and forward plates respectively of the coin retainer i3, Figs. 13 .and 14, which holes form a passageway intersecting the coin recess 15.

If the operating handle is actuated, and there is no coin in the coin retainer, the pusher will pass through the holes without effecting the delivery mechanism, but if a coin is in the coin retainer, said pusher will engage the coin and, in effect, clutch the driving element and its associated idler pinion together. This will cause said idler pinion to run the gear rack, with which it is in mesh outward, and open the closure plug on the support carried by such gear rack.

In order to prevent the gear rack and its associated or componentparts from being returnedprematurely, a pawl 92 is provided for co-operation with said gear rack. This pawl 92 is pivoted in a pawl bearing 93 secured to the supporting plate 48 and said pawl has a tail 94 in the path of travel of the-release arm 95 carried by the flatsegment of the driving A driving element 82 is fixed to the operating element.

shaft 44 beside each idler pinion with which it co-operates. This element includes a When the release arm 95 is disengaged from the tail 98 of the pawl 82, as in Fig. 7, the nose of said pawl will contact the teeth of the gear rack and prevent it from being given a retrograde movement by the spring check II, but when the release arm 96 strikes the tail of said pawl 92, because of the reverse movement of the driving element, said pawl 92 will be disengaged from the teeth of the gear rack, as in Fig. 4, freeing said rack so that it will be returned by the spring check 61.

A coin pocket 96 is supported by a bracket 61 secured to the supporting plate 49, with the outlet end or said pocket in alignment with and just above the entrance to the coin recess in the coin retainer I9 when the parts are in the closed position. In order to properly align the coin retainer I3 with the coin pocket 96, an adjustable stop 98 is provided which may be in the form of a screw in the path of rearward or inward travel of the-gear rack. and said screw is threaded through an ear 99 secured directly to the supporting plate 49 or indirectly by fastening it to the gear rack guide 6|. The adjustable stop 98 impinges against the rear end of the gear rack when the latter is in its innermost position so that when said gear rack comes to rest the coin retainer 13 should be in alignment with the coin pocket 96. If these parts are not in alignment, the adjustable stop 98 is regulated until the coin retainer is aligned with the coin pocket through the longitudinalmovement of the gear rack.

Leading to each coin pocket is a coin chute I supported by the door 29 and to which leads acoin slot IOI formed in said door. It will be obvious iro'm the foregoing description that any number of coins may be inserted in a coin chute but they will only enter the coin retainer one at a time and since a portion of the coin which is in the coin retainer will be flush with the upper outer edges of the retainer plates, the additional coins will be held out of the coin recess and cannot interfere, with the functions of the machine. As the delivery mechanism is actuated, the flange 9| on the idler pinion will pass beneath the coin pocket and retain any coins in said coin pocket or the chute until the mechanism has been operated for the delivery of a package of merchandise and the coin in the coin retainer released therefrom. When coin retainer again aligns with the pocket another. coin may pass from said pocket into the retainer and the mechanism may again be operated. I

A coin box I02 is associated with each coin chute, pocket and retainer and is fastened to supporting strips I03 disposed in vertical paralleiism across the doorway and the bottom thereof coincides with a coin return opening I04 in the door 23. This coin box has a curved back wall I05" terminating short of the inclined bottom wall and. a removable secondary bottom I06 having its inner end terminating short ofsaid back wall thereby leaving a space between them. The secondary bottom is fashioned with a foot I0'I at its inner end to elevate said inner end sufllciently to provide inclination that will cause coins striking the same to slide to the. return opening. The foot has a toe I08 which enters an aperture formed in the bottom wall of the coin box to" position the inner end of the secondary bottom in the desired location and the forward endof said secondary bottom engages in a channel rail 109 onthe inside of the cabinet front wall below the door way.

Between the adjacent ends of the back wall I 00 of the coin box and the secondary bottom I06, or within the space between them, is mounted an oscillating return or shunting flap 0 fixed to a crank III .Iournalled in the side walls of said coin box. When the flap is turned into one position the coins will enter the box and can be removed after taking out the secondary bottom but when said flap is turned into its other position the coins will be shunted onto the secondary bottom for return to the prospective customer. The operations of the oscillating flap are controlled by the delivery or non-delivery of a package, as will be described.

A package delivery chute I I2 having a suitable inclination is attached to certain of the vertical supporting strips III and bridges the space between each outlet opening 29 at the bottom of each package container and its respective access opening H9 in the removable door 23. One end of this package delivery chute rests on the sloping sill 90 of the outlet I09. Said other end is fashioned to provide a package stop II4 adjacent theaccess opening to prevent the delivered package accidentally falling from the machine. on the inclined bottom of said package delivery chute are mounted skids II5 of Bakelite or similar substance to prevent the frozen merchandise package from adhering to said delivery chute.

Near the upper end of the package delivery chute H2 is a swinging barrier II6 which may be a solid piece of material or fingers as shown, and this barrier is attached to an axle II'I journalled in the side-walls of said delivery chute with a lever arm II8 onone end. To the outer end of said lever arm is connected one end of an extensible pitman rod H9 and the other end of said pitman rod is connected to the crank III of the shunting flap H0 in the adjacent coin box. The pitman consists of two sections I20 and HI having threaded or other connection with each other whereby the length of the pitman .may be adjusted to normally maintain the shunting flap in a position to return a coin so long as the barrier remains across the package delivery chute or in the path of travel of a package in said chute. To normally hold the barrier across the delivery chute a counter weight I22 may be mounted on the pitman rod or other convenient part.

A second barrier- I23 depends from a crank shaft I24 and swings across the lower part of the package delivery chute and retards the final delivery of thepackage until after the complete operation of the machine.

One end of a runner I25 is connected to the crank shaft I24 and the other end of said runner is pivoted to one end of a link I26 while the other end of said link is pivoted to a bracket I21 on the side of the package delivery chute. The link I26 is longer than the throw of the crank shaft so that the rear end of the runner will be elevated sufficiently to engage the gear rack as the latter is moved forward or outward thereby holding the lower barrier against outward swinging movement and the removal of a package until the machine mechanism has returned to a closed position.

The top of the ice bunker is closed by an independent closure I28 of insulating material and the top of each merchandise container is also closed by an independent closure I29 with independent closure I30 for the upper ends of the spaces between the small cans or containers 29 and all of said closures are surmounted by a secondary closure I3 I having agasket I32 onits inner face for contact with the side insulation to make an airtight joint. I I

In order to evenly distribute the low. temperature about-the'package' containers or in other words. so that the temperature at the tops of the'containers will be substantially the same as at the bottoms thereof, absorption fins I33 are attached only to the plate 21 and extend from a position adjacent the upper end of the refrigerant bunker downwardly to a point approximately halfway of the height of the bunker and within the spaces betweenthe small cans or package containers or compartments.

While the machine may be used to dispense packages from a single stack, it is particularly designed for selectively vending packages from a plurality of stacks.

age containers or compartments, and said compartments are filled with packages I34 to bedispensed, then upon insertion of a coin in a selected coin slot,- said coin will pass through the coin chute and coin pocket ,into the coin retainer. Now, upon actuation of the operating handle, the operating shaft will be rotated against the action of the spring 46, Fig. 3, until the pusher 89 of the driving element engages the coin in the retainer as illustrated in Fig. 7.

The continued rotation of the operating shaft will cause the driving element to rotate the idler pinion, to which the coin retainer is attached, against the tension of the spring 59 of the spring check 5i. This will slide the gear rack 60 forward or outward and remove the closure plug 63 associated with such gear rack, from the outlet opening and, simultaneously the package extractor 64 will pull the lower package in the container therefrom and eject it into the package delivery chute.

During these operations, the pawl 85 co-acts with the ratchet teeth 84 on one of the segments 83 to prevent reverse movement of the operating shaft and component parts until the operating handle is moved a complete forward stroke at which time said pawl 85 is released and when pressure on the operating handle is relieved the spring will return the operating shaft and its component parts to the normal inoperative posi tion. This will free the coin and permit it to fall from the coin retainer. Also during the aforementioned opening or dispensing operations the pawl 92 co-acts with the gear rack 60 to prevent a reverse movement of said gear rack and the parts carried 'by and associated with such gear rack until the release arm 95 on the segment 83 of the driving element strikes the tail 94 of said pawl 92. This will disengage the pawl 92 and permit the gear rack, with its component parts, to be returned to their normal closed positions by the spring check 5! through the medium of the idler pinion.

By this arrangement there is a certain elapsed time between the return of the operating handle and-the closing of the package container which is suflicient to permit the dispensed package to drop clear of the closure plug into the delivery chute. While there is an appreciable elapsed time between the return of the operating handle and the closing of the closure plug, it is briefenough to permit the delivered package to strike the upper barrier and shift the shunt flap III! to a position that will direct the released coin into the coin box. If no package is delivered the upper barrier II6 will not be moved and the shunt flap will remain in a position to direct the released coin onto the secondary bottom I06 for return to. the prospective customer, suchcoin being removable through one of the return openings IIM.

After the package passes the uppembarrier it strikes against the lower barrier I23 and is temporarily arrested in its travel through the delivery chute. This is so because the gear rack is in engagement with the runner I 25 which prevents ,the lower barrier from swinging out-' ward. Upon the return of the gear rack, so that the closure plug is in its closed position, the runner will be released and the weight of the package against the lower barrier'will swing the latter and permit said package to descend to the access opening II3 for removal by the customer.

I1 the operating handle is actuated without a coin in the coin retainer, the driving element .will be moved, but the pusher 89 will pass through the holes 90 and 9| in the coin retainerv without effecting the delivery mechanism and the machine will not function.

Should any of the vapor or gas, from any cause whatsoever;v enter the package containers, or any one of them, and create a damaging pressure therein, the package holding rack or racks will be lifted sufliciently to open the hole or holes in the bottom of the small can or cans and the vapor or. gas will enter the large can, and if the pressure is still high, it can blow open one or more of the closureplugs against the action of the spring checks and enter the body of the cabinet from which it may readily. escape through the joints about the front door 23 or other openings.

Because ofthe circulating passageways beneath and at both sides. an the back of the small cans, formed by the sp ing of the walls of the small cans from the wa ls of the large can and the spacing of said small cans relative to each other, the warmer air at the bottom of said circulating passageways will rise to the top thereof, where the refrigerant bunker is located, to be chilled. This arrangement insures that the package containers will be substantially the same temperature throughout. Any change of temperatures between the upper and lower ends of the containers will be re ulated by the shields 4i. Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction herein shown and described; as these may be varied within the limits of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having 'thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful is;-

1. In a coin controlled vending machine, a container adapted to receive packages to be dispensed, said container having an outlet opening in the front wall at the bottom thereof, a closure plug for! said outlet opening, a package Tio extractor carried by said closure plug for en-'- tain packages to be dispensed, a closure plug gagement with the rear of a package to propel. such package forward through the outlet opening as the closure plug is withdrawn from said outlet opening, a slidably mounted gear rack, means tosupport said closure plug on said gear rack, coin conveying means, an operating shaft, an idler pinion Journalled on said shaft-and meshing with the gear rack, a coin retainer 7 carried by said' pinion and normally disposed below the discharge end of the coin conveying means, and means ilxed to said shaft and operative through the medium of a coin in the retainer to actuate the pinion and thereby move the gear rack to open the closure plug and-elect va package.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1, in combination with means to temporarily prevent retrograde movement of the gear rack and hold it in a projected position, means to retract said v gear rack when the holding means is released,-

means to prevent reverse movement of the pinion actuating means prior to .a complete forward stroke of said pinion actuating means, means urging the pinion actuating means in a reverse direction, and means on the pinion actuating means to release the gear rack holding for the outlet opening, means carried by the closure plug and proiectable through the outlet opening'to extract a package, mechanism operable upon the insertion of a coin for opening the closure plug and actuating the package extracting means, a package delivery chute disposed beneath the outlet opening, a coin box having a coin receiving compartment and a coin return means therein, a coin shunting flap swingingly mounted in the coin box to direct a coin to the coin receiving compartment or the return-means, a barrier swingingly. mounted in the package delivery chute to be actuated by a package in said package delivery chute, and means connecting the barrier with the coin shunting flap for swinging the latter when said barrier is actuated, said connecting means ineluding a weight to normally maintain the barrier in the path of travel of a package and the shunting flap in a position to direct a coin to a the return means. 

